Tuesday, February 26, 2008

For Ukrainians, at least those outside of Ukraine, this is old news. For Ukrainians in many parts of Ukraine who grew up under the heel of tsarist and Soviet russification, this is new news. Finally the powers that be are getting off their knees, and beginning to hold their heads high.

The Russians will be spitting mad. How dare these Ukrainians say this? The fact that it's true, and that the Russians and their scholars have been deforming history, well.... empires die hard. Now to get around to fixing all the Western academic books on the archaeology of "southern Russia," the relations of Byzantium and "Russia," early Rus' history, and so many other aspects of scholarly disinformation.

This is an enormous undertaking, because not only does the information have to get out into the academic and popular world, it first needs to reach Ukrainian historians and other scholars. So many of the older generation have been spouting the party line history for so long, they think it's true. The Ukrainian academies, esp. the Akademiia Nauk (Academy of Sciences) needs to get new blood, not thinking along Soviet pro-Russian anti-Ukrainian lines. Amazing that some Ukrainians who studied under that system still do not look objectively at the sources and at the Russian manipulation of history over the centuries, and feel inferior to the Russian imperial mindset. The documents and material are out there. We just need to reclaim them and put them out there for the world.

Monday, February 18, 2008

from the CBC:"...Aurel Braun, of the international relations program at the University of Toronto, said the Canadian government wants to ensure the province is a democratic entity that respects the rule of law and human rights.He told CBC News that Canada is also worried about separatism, although there are significant differences between the situation in Kosovo and Canada."While I'm sure Canada will be recognizing Kosovo, I would be skeptical if Canada would be the first or one of the very first countries. It may be prudent to wait a little bit, but I don't think Canada will be too far along in recognizing Kosovo."On Sunday, the Parti Québócois sent congratulations to the people of Kosovo...."

There should be no comparisons between events in Europe, Asia, and Africa and the countries of the Western Hemisphere, and Australia. The latter two -- apart from the aboriginal populations -- were colonized, settled by outsiders. So the newcomers 500-year-old or so history really doesn't count for much. In the former continents, after the migrations settled down, the people remained (for the most part) where they had been since first settlement millennia ago.

Neither the Quebequois nor even the rest of the Canadian population are nations in the true sense, the way European ones (for example) are. The latter are autochtonous -- indigenous, native, formed or originating in the place where found. Since prehistoric or early historic times, they have always been there. For Europeans -- at least until the former colonials began to immigrate to the lands of their former imperialists -- their land was theirs, no need to explain, to ponder over roots and origins.

In Canada and the U.S., what is Canadian and what is American still has not been decided nor defined. It can't be, because these are former colonies, on land they had invaded and colonized (ok, stolen) from the inhabitants. Even the Asian and Caucasus portions of the Russian Federation are similar, because they had been invaded by tsarist forces a few centuries ago. No wonder Putin is opposed to Kosovo. He has too many places in his own supposed federation that still have not accepted Russian rule (Chechnya, anyone?).

So while the PQ think they have a parallel in Kosovo, it just ain't so.

Friday, February 15, 2008

"... Seifert, who was dubbed by some as the Beast of Bolzano, was an ethnic German born in Ukraine when it was a republic in the Soviet Union. He was born in Landau, a German-speaking town near Odessa. He moved to Canada in 1951..."

From CNN:

"...Seifert, a Canadian citizen of Ukrainian origin, has acknowledged being a guard at the SS-run camp but denies being involved in atrocities..."________________

Does being born in a particular place make you what you are, or does being born into a particular family do that? Seifert was no more Ukrainian than I am a German -- and I was born in Germany. But other than my birth certificate (which did not make me a German citizen), there is no other connection for me to that country. True, I did live the first four years of my life there, but it was in a DP (displaced persons) camp, a refugee place, waiting for some country to take us.

Citizenship and nationality and ethnic origin are all very intertwined, are not always the same, and some, not all, make the person. You can be a Schwab, born in Rumania or Hungary, but you will always know that you are German. You can be an Armenian born in Turkey, but that certainly will not make you a Turk! Your citizenship papers and passport may give place of birth, but your cultural and ethnic heritage -- and family -- make you what you are.

How much clearer it would be if the media identified someone as "born in Ukraine to Jewish parents," or "born in England to Ukrainian parents," and on and on. The family influence is there much more than the surroundings of where you grew up. Of course the latter does have an impact on your life, but not to the extent that family does.

Those of us who started out as immigrants and refugees certainly do appreciate the countries that welcomed us (sometimes not that eagerly, it seems) and whose naturalized citizens we are. And we are fiercely patriotic about our new homelands. But the patriotism of the ancestral land is also strong, in a different way. Sometimes there are interesting variations, where you can distinguish between Canadian Ukrainians and American Ukrainians -- so place does have an influence.

Back to the media -- interesting how, since 1991, Ukrainians became more visible in the news, especially when it came to something negative. If it was a positive story, the person was still Russian- or Soviet-born, but if it was negative, all of a sudden, the person was Ukrainian-born, even if his/her ethnic identity was not Ukrainian and if, at the time, as during WWII, Ukraine as an entity did not exist de jure.

Follow by Email

ABOUT ME

I'm a writer, translator, and speaker, mostly on things Ukrainian. People often turn to me for information on Ukrainian traditions, costumes, culture, and all related "stuff." If I don't know, I try to find out. On this blog, will share links to my various articles on (hopefully) interesting topics.
I retired from the University of Manitoba Libraries in September 2010. Have been trying to catch up to myself every since (the story of my life)....

Prairie Fire -- "Echoes from Ukrainian Canada."Special issue on Ukrainian Canadian literature, October 1992. Co-initiator of issue and member of guest editorial board.One non-fiction work and one review.

Spirit of Ukraine:500 Years of Ukrainian Painting.Winnipeg:Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1991.Co-editor (one of four) and translator.

Carpathia Credit Union -- 50 Years of Service to the Community.Winnipeg:Carpathia Credit Union, 1990.Co-author with Dr. Halyna Muchin.

Writer of three anniversary brochures for the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Winnipeg:1972, English text; 1979, Ukrainian text; 1982, Ukrainian and English text.

Over 400 published articles in numerous publications -- The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Prairie Fire, University of Manitoba Alumni Journal, Prairie Garden, Canadian [Antiques] Collector, Forum: a UkrainianReview, and -- columnist for The UkrainianWeekly (Parsippany, New Jersey).

SOME OF MY LECTURE SUBJECTS

Why We Do What We Do:Origins and Symbolism of Ukrainian Traditions

Baba Was Right All Along: Ukrainian Folk Medicine

Songs Your Mother Should Never Have Taught You?Erotic Symbolism in Ukrainian Folk Songs

Konopli - Hemp in Ukrainian Tradition and Life

Perogies on the Prairies: from Ukrainian Village to Mainstream Canada

Origins of Ukrainian Traditions

Ukrainian Wedding Traditions in Manitoba (and general)

Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter Eggs and What They Mean

Ukrainian Christmas

Symbolism in Ukrainian Songs and in Folk Art

Free-for-all re Things Ukrainian

My 15th Folk Art and Culture Tour of Ukraine in 2012

The dates for 2013 are Aug. 22-Sept. 8. Please book early.

Folks are asking about this tour -- word of mouth is good! But if you are interested, act quickly to be sure to go. You'll need to reserve with Martha Banias at The Great Canadian Travel Company, and also be sure that your passport is not within 6 months of expiring at the time of the trip!